Puerto Rico Activist Blames AFL-CIO for Slow Recovery

Puerto Rican activist Rosa Clemente placed much of the blame on the slow recovery on the U.S. island with the AFL-CIO at the Women’s Conference in Detroit for their refusal to unload critical supplies because of union issues. “You don’t know that there’s 9,000 containers sitting on a port to this day,” Clemente told the […]

By NTK Staff | 10.27.2017 @11:03am

Puerto Rican activist Rosa Clemente placed much of the blame on the slow recovery on the U.S. island with the AFL-CIO at the Women’s Conference in Detroit for their refusal to unload critical supplies because of union issues.

“You don’t know that there’s 9,000 containers sitting on a port to this day,” Clemente told the conference. “Unfortunately, our friends at the AFL-CIO have decided that the union contract is more important than breaking down containers to save people lives.”

Members of the crowd jeered Clemente for attacking one of America’s largest unions, which predominantly supports Democratic candidates.

“Ya’ll can boo me all you want on that, but read the letter – read the letter that came out two days ago from that union, saying, ‘We won’t use Puerto Rican people because they’re not part of our union,'” she continued.

The AFL-CIO issued a statement condemning efforts to repeal the Jones Act, which some have argued restricts Puerto Rico’s ability to recover.